Zimpapers Logo

Albert Marufu in LONDON, England
FORMER Warriors and Dynamos defender, Chamu Musanhu, has reopened the debate to have sports facilities named after the county’s sporting heroes.

Musanhu, a FIFA player agent based in Liverpool, England, said as Zimbabwe reflects on 40 years of Independence, the country should move with times and start honouring its sporting heroes.

“We need a change of mindset in Zimbabwe because we are 20 years behind other African countries in terms of our approach to football issues,’’ he said. It starts with small issues like honouring our former players while they are still alive. There was talk of Rufaro’s Vietnam Stand being named George Shaya Stand, Willowvale Road after musician Oliver Mtukudzi while Thomas Mapfumo was to be given freedom of the City of Harare and a stand.

‘‘That was a good start, but I am not sure if anything is being done.  Kirsty Coventry won gold medals at the Olympic Games and there is nothing as befitting as naming the Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex after her.

‘‘Years from now, people would have forgotten about her exploits while representing Zimbabwe, but not if the complex is named after her. The same applies with the Black family — Don, Byron, Wayne and Cara — in tennis. In 1980, we had the women’s field hockey team winning a gold medal. There is nothing wrong with naming either Magamba in Harare or Bulawayo’s Khumalo Hockey Stadiums after one of the players.’’

Musanhu said ZIFA should also find ways of incorporating former footballers into their structures.

“There should be positions for people like Peter Ndlovu and Moses Chunga in our football structures. Ndlovu is celebrated here in England,’’ he said.

‘‘He spent close to 13 years here and is currently managing Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa. He certainly has the experience that we cannot afford to ignore. Ndlovu should be the president of ZIFA with Chunga deputising him or vice-versa. The corporate world respects football people and that is something that is lacking now in Zimbabwe.’’

Musanhu said the exploits of the Dynamos team, which reached the 1998 Champions League final, should also not be forgotten.

“People still talk about the Dynamos squad that reached the final of the 1998 CAF Champions League. Why cannot we honour the players by naming streets in their respective neighbourhoods?’’ he said.

‘‘We can have a street in Mufakose named after Memory Mucherahowa, for example. This shows that we are a nation that appreciates, and it will inspire generations.’’ Meanwhile, former Warriors defender George Mbwando, who is now based in Germany, has said the banning of Zimbabwe’s stadia by CAF came as a blessing in disguise.

‘‘I think it was a good thing that CAF banned the stadia. Something had to be done. We cannot have a situation where people still use the 1980 stadium,” he said.

“We should have national team games being rotated in all the cities, like what they do here in Germany.

‘‘I can tell you that we had the best atmosphere every time we played at Barbourfields in Bulawayo. In Harare it was just normal, but there was a different feeling among players every time we played in Bulawayo.’’ Mbwando described the decision to put artificial turf at Rufaro was a big fraud in Zimbabwean football.

The turf has since been removed.

“Whoever decided to remove that artificial turf came up with a very good decision. So many injuries were being caused by that turf,’’ said Mbwando.

‘‘It was a wrong move to put it there in the first place. Rufaro is used by many teams and artificial turf cannot be used every week, especially without being maintained. That was the worst decision ever because that money might have been put to good use in properly developing our stadia around the country.’’